Trescothick has first-hand experience of being in such a position having left the 2006-07 Ashes in the same situation after previously suffering on the 2005-06 tour to India. He has since been credited with helping break the sigma around mental illness, especially among sportsmen, and has said that cricket should now pale into insignificance for Trott compared to his health and well-being.

Andy Flower, the England team director, revealed that Trott had been managing his condition over an extended period of time before a decision was made at the end of the third day of the Brisbane Test that he should return home and Trescothick recalled the memories of his own traumatic experience seven years ago.

"You just can't take any more, you just can't get through the day let alone go out there and play a Test match and win a Test match," he told Sky Sports News. "I sympathise with Trotty. I've been in that exact situation in '06 and '07 and tried to make that decision knowing that the consequences and all the attention it's going to bring on to you are going to be tough.

"I think we just need to allow a bit of time, that's the key at this point. I know there's going to be a massive media scrum over the next couple of days. We'll probably see him flying back home and seeing him arrive back at his house, but we just need to allow him that bit of time to get well again because your health is far more important than any game of cricket that we play."

There have been suggestions that Trott should not have been selected for the tour if his situation was known by the selectors, but Trescothick said the illness did not make such decisions straight forward and that emotions can sway in a short period of time.

"I've been in this position and you try to cope but it's very, very tough. I've started tours sometimes, feeling not in the right place and not in the the right state of mind but managed to get through the little period that you can carry on playing and doing well - but clearly it has got too much.''

In another interview, with BBC Radio Five Live, Trescothick added that Trott would only have made things worse for himself if he had tried to carry on.

"It would have been a horrible decision to make, to come out and talk about these things for the first time is tough," said Trescothick. "I'm sure he's not feeling great at all, but he's definitely made the right decision.

"When you're in that state of mind you get very good at hiding these things but there comes a time where you have to talk about it. It just gets too big sometimes and the best thing to do is to take some time away from it.

"It's debilitating, it grinds you down, and it's difficult to escape from, you can't get away from it in all areas of your life. There is no hiding place from it, 24/7. It's really really tough and it will take time for him to get back on track again.''